Residents say HGVs are causing their houses to shake and be damaged by the constant movement of heavy goods vehicles travelling in and out of the Weylands Industrial Estate

Banning or restricting HGVs on roads around Weylands Industrial Estate would be impossible and could adversely affect the economy.

Instead, the inspection and repair of roads could help mitigate the problem of the constant movement of lorries on Molesey Road and Hersham Road.

This is according to Surrey highways officers, who were questioned ahead of the Elmbridge local committee meeting on Monday June 16.

A question was submitted by Hersham councillor Margaret Hicks, who said HGVs are using the network to access the Weylands estate in Molesey Road, by using various routes. She asked if there was an appropriate route and what restrictions would be put in place.

Residents’ feelings about the number of HGVs using the route bubbled to the surface when a planning application was submitted to build an incinerator on the Weylands site.

During a campaign by residents, they took to the streets to carry out traffic counts of HGVs entering and leaving the site.

In a 12-hour stint from 6am to 6pm on a Friday last September, more than 300 HGVs were recorded.

Residents reported their houses shaking and being damaged by the constant movement of heavy goods vehicles.

According to Surrey’s highways department, few things could solve this but repairing defects in the road, resurfacing poor areas and raising and resetting manhole covers and gully gratings would mitigate the impact, making a smoother surface for all vehicles, minimising vibrations and noise.

According to a county highways officer, it would not be possible to restrict HGVs on Hersham Road and Molesey Road as they are the ‘only primary routes capable of accommodating such vehicles’.

The officer added: “Any restrictions would merely be flouted or would migrate vehicles into more residential and less appropriate routes.

“Roads are the arteries of the country for goods and commerce, and care must be taken not to adversely affect this. When these are strangled, the economy suffers and jobs are undoubtedly lost.”

He said police would not support it, as enforcement ‘would be impossible’.

Around 20 years ago, a lawful use certificate was issued for part of the Weylands industrial estate site, allowing the import of inert waste material.

The certificates are not subject to planning controls and therefore the county has no formal control over working hours.

The officer said traffic calming had been installed on many of the local roads but on this site that would be ‘very intrusive and intensely noisy due to the type of vehicles it carries’, adding that the accident record on the road ‘did not justify any proposals’.

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She has been editorial director of the online and print titles in Surrey and north-east Hampshire since 2007. Marnie previously worked at the BBC as a producer for 5 Live, having moved to national radio from BBC Sussex and Surrey.